Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains, generally, to very lightweight safety and protective garments for working animals. The garments provide comfortable protection to such animals against insect (primarily biting flies) harassment as well as possessing high visibility and identifying indicia on any individual garment. Specifically, the invention provides an ensemble, consisting in an assemblage of garments that are constructed so as to cover, or drape, discrete portions of a working animal""s body and which (independently) provide protection against biting insects, while presenting, for use during times of low or obscured visibility, superficial illuminative indicia for identification.
2. Discussion of Relevant Art
Several documents have been found that disclose various attempts to provide animal clothing, or garments, that would afford the general characteristics stated above, namely safety and fly-resistive protection. The most relevant of these documents have, as they appear to the instant inventor, both advantages and limitations as hereinafter discussed.
In U.S. Des. Pat. No. 418,635 (""635), titled RIDING BLANKET, there is shown a horse blanket that drapes the horse from the base of the neck, about the rider and to the rear quarters. The blanket descends to just above the animal""s knees. The device is clearly a blanket designed for body warmth but which fails to cover the head, neck and full rump of the animal, exposing these parts to pests that are prevalent in cool weather. Further, there are no articles attached to the blanket which would grant it a higher than normal visibility.
Similar to the design of ""635, is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,421 (""421) for a bi-part HORSE BLANKET AND HOOD APPARATUS. Intended as a xe2x80x9cturn outxe2x80x9d covering (i.e. the animal is to be turned out to pasture and not mounted), it extends the solitary partial covering of ""635 to include a hood that covers the entire neck and jaw-crown portions of the head. The instant inventor finds the same limitations in this patent as in ""635, including what can reasonably be deduced as significant weight and bulk.
Yet another horse blanket, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,290 (""290), drawn to a VENTILATED PROTECTIVE COVER FOR A HORSE, provides a single-piece covering for draping over the body from shoulder to rump. The blanket is heavy and possesses flap-covered, screened eyelets that allow ventilation through the otherwise waterproof, although xe2x80x9cbreathablexe2x80x9d (vented), covering. A turn out garment, ""290 suffers the same limitations as ""635. Within this particular genre, of coverings, are two quite early U.S. Patents, number 373,764 issued for a HORSE BLANKET ATTACHMENT and number 791,372, drawn to HORSE-BLANKET. Both of these possess the same advantages and limitations as those horse blankets previously discussed. A more recent innovation to the familiar horse blanket is realized in U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,693, entitled: BREATHABLE, WATERPROOF HORSE BLANKET. Here the patentee provides a basic single-piece blanket of otherwise impermeable material, but with a mesh fabric therein that extends over a major portion of the back covering. A piece of the impermeable material is fixed in a xe2x80x9cstand-offxe2x80x9d (displaced from) position over the mesh fabric, by attachment to the blanket (proper) at several discrete points. This construction effects a conventional waterproof blanket that assures ventilation as the animal moves about. This article varies little from previously discussed turn out blankets, but it makes use of the flap-covered ventilation ports of ""290.
Perhaps the most germane article found, relative to the instant invention, is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,891 (""891), entitled: PROTECTIVE HORSE MASK. Although confined to but a portion of a horse""s head, this device, by use of a lightweight mesh fabric and fleece, provides face, ear and nostril protection against both sun and noisome insects. Although the device is perceived to be well suited to its task, the patent falls short of suggesting that the stated protection be applied to the preponderance of the animal""s body. The mask also lacks means for rendering the animal highly visible.
That other working animals, such as dogs, may also be provided with protective garments, is well known in the art; U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,537, for an ALL PURPOSE CANINE PROTECTIVE COAT, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,194, for a REVERSIBLE HEAT-REFLECTIVE PET GARMENT, are illustrative of such knowledge. Both patents depict protective devices against weather, for any dog, irrespective of whether the animal is working. Likewise, animals wearing these dog garments would be quite visible before an active light source, but it remains problematical whether such visibility would persist in low ambient light, such as at dusk, in dense wood or during inclement weather.
Although coverings for animals are quite plentiful, the instant inventor has not been apprised of a garment for working animals, particularly horses under saddling gear, that possesses lightweight, extensive covering, which affords to the animal ventilation, fly protection and high visibility during low-light conditions.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,891, issued to McMahon on Oct. 10, 2000 for a PROTECTIVE HORSE MASK is incorporated by reference for its showing of a partial head covering for a horse, said covering consisting in the combination of lightweight, fine mesh and fleece fabrics
Most terms used herein are to be taken as having their customary English meaning. When different or secondary meanings may be applied, the inventor has, with their first usage, employed quotation marks and given their intended definition in parentheses. A few terms, however, are to be read with the following meanings (esp. in the claims):
breathablexe2x80x94having capability of ventilation or being evapotranspirative;
ensemblexe2x80x94an assemblage of parts (as in a set of clothing);
evapotranspirativexe2x80x94having the properties of liquid absorption and evaporation;
fluorescencexe2x80x94luminescence that may persist after removal of excitation;
iridescencexe2x80x94brilliance or high reflectance of light;
luminescencexe2x80x94emission of visible light after non-thermal energy stimulation; and
saddling gearxe2x80x94the saddle, including cinching and accouterments for attachments.
The instant inventor has overcome deficiencies of the early art by providing an ensemble of illuminative, well ventilated, insect-resistive garments for working animals, such as horses under saddling gear or field dogs. Dual safety objectives are satisfied by this invention: first, prevention of animal harassment by biting insects such as deer/black/horse flies, which could cause a horse to stumble or a dog to turn into line of fire; and second, identification of the animal (and rider or master) during conditions of low ambient light. Hereinafter, the descriptions of the invention and its maximum benefits will be described, principally, in respect of the horse, donned with saddling gear (or under saddle).
The first of these objectives is attained, in varying degree, by cloaking portions of the animal in a single garment or a plurality of garments, the latter ensemble being preferred. Garments of the ensemble are constructed of lightweight, breathable mesh fabrics of the type that are used for their ventilation or moisture-wicking properties. Moreover, the fabric used by the inventor is produced, and available off the shelf, in iridescent colors. Under fair weather and light (normal) ambient conditions, the ensemble provides: a hood (head covering); a hood-connected cape (neck covering), which descends to the withers and is attached to the saddling gear; and a body drape, consisting in a single garment attached, to saddling gear, so as to cover the horse""s flanks, back and rump laterally and rearward of the saddling gear. The garment fabric is of a mesh small enough to frustrate the common biting flies, yet large enough to xe2x80x9cbreathxe2x80x9dxe2x80x94in the preferred embodiment, having foramen size from about 0.5 mm to about 1.5 mm. The bonnet portion (head cover) of the ensemble stands off the eyes of the animal, thereby providing to them an insect-and light debris-resistive guard or barrier protection. Under such (normal) conditions, both safety objectives of the invention are met when the iridescent fabric is used.
To achieve the second objective, under less than optimum visibility conditions, there is provided, on discrete sites of the garments, a series of illuminative strips or patches. Several fabrics of luminescent, fluorescent or otherwise highly reflective character are readily available, on the market. These indicators, or illuminative indicia, are affixed by sewing/stitching, snap fasteners or, like the preferred method of connecting the above garments, by use of materials bearing hooks and loops, as in the product Velcro(copyright).